Abstract
Change of uric acid in the course of their cataract development induced by galactose was investigated. Uric acid in rat lenses was quantitatively determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. We found that the amounts of uric acid in creased in the rat lenses with the development of their opacification induced by galactose compared with the control group. The observed increase of uric acid in the galactose-induced cataractous lenses might be interpleted as follows. (1) Adenosine 5'-triphosphate might consumed in the course of the cataract development and/or the salvage system in the purine metabolism might be relatively deactivated. As a result, the synthesis of uric acid might be also enhanced. (2) After the initial membrane-permeability change induced by plausible polyol accumulation in rat lens, uric acid might be able to transfer from the extr a - l ens into the intra-lens through the lenticular membrane. At this moment, however, we have been unable to obtain any direct evidence for the above described assumptions.
